UN: Palestinian Authority has applied to join worldwide treaties

With all the cynicism that surrounds the latest round of Middle East peace talks -- it's easy to forget some people are still working toward a positive solution.

on.aol.com

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has submitted applications for joining in 15 international treaties and conventions, United Nations spokesman Farhan Haq announced in New York City on Wednesday according to the UN News Center.

The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General to the PLO and the PA Robert Serry received applications for 13 of the treaties and conventions while Swiss and Dutch Representatives to the PA received applications for two others.

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour stated of the applications, “Palestine is exercising its legal right as a State to join those instruments and live up to its international responsibility.

“We are proud of this and consider it a step by our President to consolidate and strengthen the pillars of the State of Palestine in the international system,” he added.

Palestine was granted the status of a non-member observer State at the United Nations in 2012.

According to a press release from the office of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the 15 international treaties and conventions to which the Palestinian Authority applied are:

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations

The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in armed conflict

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The United Nations Convention against Corruption

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The Four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the First Additional Protocol

The Hague Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations Concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land

Mr. Haq noted that the United Nations will now review the applications made by the PA and then determine the next steps of the process.

Share this article

Raymond Gellner has been a writer in the fields of politics, science and general news since 2009. He attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Please contact Raymond at regellner@myway.com.

'For the Record' goes inside one of the most radical mosques in the United States and speaks with a member of the Muslim community who is risking his life to come forward. Our exclusive interview will reveal how extreme Muslim leaders in Boston have...

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson on Sunday reiterated President Barack Obama's contention that the Islamic State should not be referred to as a branch of "radical Islam" because the term grants the terrorist group religious legitimacy.